ef: A Tale of Memories.

On Christmas Eve, Hiro Hirono runs into Miyako Miyamura, a frivolous girl who "borrows" his bicycle in order to chase down a purse thief. After Hiro finds his bicycle wrecked and Miyako unconscious, the two unexpectedly spend their Christmas Eve together, and when they discover they go to the same high school, their accidental relationship develops even further. This sparks the jealousy of Hiro's childhood friend Kei Shindou, whose pure approach to life catches the eye of Kyosuke Tsutsumi, a womanizing photographer searching for the perfect shot.

Elsewhere, Renji Asou, a boy who dreams of being a girl's knight in shining armor, has a chance encounter with Kei's twin sister—the overly shy Chihiro Shindou, who spends her time reading alone—at an abandoned train station. The two quickly become friends and eventually decide to write a novel together. However, when Renji discovers Chihiro's secret, his childish ideals are put to the test.

Guided by two mysterious adults, these youths' relationships intertwine in a heart-rending tale of love, rejection, acceptance, and memories.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shindou, Chihiro Main

Yanase, Natsumi Japanese

Miyamura, Miyako Main

Taguchi, Hiroko Japanese

Asou, Renji Main

Takagi, Motoki Japanese

Hirono, Hiro Main

Shimono, Hiro Japanese

Shindou, Kei Main

Okada, Junko Japanese

Amamiya, Yuuko Supporting

Nakajima, Yumiko Japanese

Himura, Yuu Supporting

Toochika, Kouichi Japanese

Kuze, Shuuichi Supporting

Hamada, Kenji Japanese

Hayama, Mizuki Supporting

Gotou, Mai Japanese

Tsutsumi, Kyosuke Supporting

Tai, Yuuki Japanese

Kubota, Mitsutoshi Producer

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Matsuda, Akio Producer

Oonuma, Shin Director

Reviews

Mar 14, 2008

TheLlama

Recommended

Several love stories... they will make you cry. Definite recommendation.
Love. Tragedy. Sadness. This show has all the basic ingredients that's needed to make me cry. . However, not all shows with those basic ingredients have done so. What made this show so special then?

I guess the characters, and the way they were portrayed. They were all struggling... struggling with their dreams. What to do. Who to be with. That was portrayed in such a way that I completely fell into it, with my entire mind. It was as if I was standing next to them, having to watch them struggle through their dreams and loves... ... forcing me to cry, both in the good and bad times they were experiencing. Also, the animation and the way the scenes were made was really beautiful and enjoyable. It was something I've never seen before, and normally I'd probably say that it was weird, I guess. But with this show... it just fit in so perfectly. The ending of this show was also something that was enjoyable. When I started watching the show, I'd never think about the ending it had, and I'd definitely not like the idea of such an ending. However, after having watched it, I msut say that it was indeed the perfect way to sum it all up. It couldn't have been done more beautifully, not the slightest inch better. Not at all.

This show is truly one of the best shows I've watched, and I think that anyone who enjoys a tear-jerking show will love this show. Fully and completely.

To 'Not Helpful' voters (and you 'Helpful' voters too): Feedback greatly appreciated =)

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by TheLlama (65)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Sep 3, 2009

Fonbella

Mixed Feelings

I decided to watch this anime after watching some AMVs. I've always despised the art style of this anime (big heads, pentagonal faces and skinny characters don't really appeal me), but the animation was gorgeous, which motivated me.

Story: 5.
The story doesn't pick up until episode 5. I almost dropped watching it because it's boring at first, but it does get better as it goes, and since it's actually a short anime, I recommend watching it all. This anime could be divided in three stories. Sadly, aside from Renji and Chihiro's part, the story is very poor. If you're looking for a more complex, mind blowing ... story, I recomend not watching this. While I love drama and I respect the director's decision to stage it in a unique way, some of the most dramatic parts in this anime are laughable, Like when Chihiro falls at the beach and Renji reaches out for her, or when Renji breaks down in later episodes.

Art: 6.
Here I devide it in two, visual style and animation. For visual style: 3, animation: 9. As I said before, I'm not fond of deformed characters, with extremely huge heads (like Miyamura's), but it's not for me to state my personal preferences in this review. I really like how a lot of the scenes in this anime look like vectors moving, it was really original and it's what I like the most about this anime (the opening itself is a very good example of it).

Sound: 10.
I have nothing to say here. It's really good from the very beginning to the very end. All songs are brilliant and it blends in magically. "Euphoric Field" is something you'll want to put in your iPod right away.

Character: 8.
For a 12-episode anime, the characters develop pretty well, each following their own pace. Most notably are Kei and Chihiro. Miyako also changes a bit at the end, but overall, she's your tipical annoying, childish girl.

Enjoyment: 7.
This anime has a very serious problem: you'll find youserlf glued to the screen at some point while watching it (episode 11 speaks for itself), but at other parts you'll just yawn and think about dropping watching it (like when Miyako calls Hiro in episode 7 and 10).

Overall: 6.
It could've been better written, but it wasn't a waste of time watching it. I'm still in love with it's animation and vector-like style (can I call this 4 wall breakage? I really enjoy that. Google it if you don't know what it means). It's not an anime I'd recommend to others, but if people asked me if it's worth watching it or not, I'd simply say: It's good.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Fonbella (1)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Dec 7, 2010

Brii90

Not Recommended

I can't even begin to fathom why people love this series so much. The story is incredibly, mind-blowingly generic, and the characters are so typical that I feel like I've seen them in dozens of other shows. On top of that, the "artistic" style of the anime was so distracting and ridiculous. I found myself laughing every time the scene became obnoxiously distorted or the colors changed, because it was so non-discrete and it never quit. Yes, this anime is pretty. But it's pretty in a way that makes it clear that it's trying way too hard to be beautiful and artistic. All in all, ... this anime was painful to watch. It was not deep nor creative like it tried so hard to be.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Brii90 (12)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Summer Collection

by wiederhr

33 Entries · 29 Restacks

Nightcore Vibes

by Advanced495

49 Entries · 94 Restacks

-Life Beyond Limitations-

by GonXalo

49 Entries · 128 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for November

Here are the North American anime & manga releases for November Week 1: November 3 - 9 Anime Releases Actors: Songs Connection Complete Collection Blu-ray Dragon...read more

Nov 2, 2020 6:44 PM by ImperfectBlue | Discuss (1 comment)

Sentai Filmworks Announcements at Anime Expo

Sentai Filmworks announced at its Anime Expo panel that it has licensed ef - a tale of memories., ef - a tale of melodies., Loups-Garous, Ro-Kyu-Bu!, and Saiyuki: Re...read more

Jul 3, 2011 4:14 PM by Naruleach | Discuss (35 comments)

	Poll: ef - a tale of memories Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) dancu - Dec 12, 2007	200 replies	by kochia »» Jan 5, 4:00 PM
	Poll: ef - a tale of memories Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) cyruz - Nov 21, 2007	281 replies	by KikiTheChaotic »» Nov 17, 2025 12:53 AM
	Is F: A Tale of Memories the edgiest 00s romance ever made? Catalano - Sep 18, 2025	5 replies	by eblf2013 »» Sep 27, 2025 7:05 PM
	Poll: ef - a tale of memories Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) radiantfire - Dec 22, 2007	334 replies	by oooo3333 »» Aug 11, 2025 11:26 AM
	Poll: ef - a tale of memories Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Faust721 - Nov 12, 2007	98 replies	by kagamiiin »» Sep 28, 2024 6:56 AM

15 Hottest Anime Girls With an Eyepatch

There is something really alluring about anime girls who wear eye patches, but have you ever wondered what exactly makes them so interesting? If the answer is yes and there is at least one anime eye patch girl that you like, check out the article to see 15 of the best!

by FreeNightFalls

1,336,313 views

CollectionCute GirlsKawaiiMoeHotGIF

Gateway Anime: How to Get Your Anime-Hating Friends Hooked on Anime

How do you get your friends into anime? By presenting them with the perfect gateway anime, of course. Here are some gateway anime to get anyone into it.

by Littoface

120,223 views

CollectionNarutoGhibli